There have been many problems in the compact camera art in providing a system making possible the recording of variable data records on photographic frames relating to date, place, frame number or sequence, identification and other necessary or desired coded data. Not only is very limited space in the compact cameras a general problem, but the regions of access to the film locations thereinside for location of optical systems conveying data to be recorded is limited to even a greater extent.
When the typewriter keyboard is considered as a standard for the manual entry of alphanumeric data, it appears that even the provisions of keyboard entry need be limited to decimal digits as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,388, Nov. 30, 1982 to L. Micak, et al. for example. Even then the amount of recorded information is limited to the number of character forming positions that can be arranged internally adjacent the film plane about the edges of the frame which is positioned for photographing through the camera optical and shutter system. Keyboard arrays because of the limited internal camera space have been contained in large size remote electronic processor devices attachable to the camera by an electronic cable, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,384,771, May 24, 1983 to N. Sakurada, et al. and 3,953,868, Apr. 27, 1976 to T. Kawamura, et al.
The recording of data auxiliary to the photo taking process is normally done at the edges or the corners of the film frame where light emitting character formers are located. Keyboard entered information may be stored for later retrieval at a specified frame as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,682 to S. Hattori, for example. In these prior art examples the auxiliary keyboard entered data is stored on the film photographically as the film is stationary in the framing position, either before or after the taking of a picture. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,552, Feb. 5, 1985 to L. C. Howard, et al. a calculator type display operable from a thirty key keyboard is moved physically to various film positions for recording a sequence of data entries. However, movement of such equipment in compact cameras is not feasible. Even fixed position character display lines formulated in electronic data processing equipment in response to typewriter like keyboards provides only a few characters of auxiliary data for any particular photo, as clear from U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,186, May 18, 1982 to S. Hattori.
The art has thus not been able to provide in a compact roll film type camera a versatile keyboard entry variable data alphanumeric suplmental photorecording system for entering a substantial number of coded characters to identify such information as the time, subject and place a particular picture was taken.